ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH EDITION |
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What does your CAL FIRE look like? |
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Upload your photos and videos so we can show California and beyond how CAL FIRE is California's All Risk Fire Department! |
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Trial by fire: The Trauma of fighting California's wildfires |
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CalMatters
an excerpt — California’s firefighting agency has been slow to react to a mounting mental health crisis within its ranks as firefighters around the state say Cal Fire has failed to get them what they need — including a sustainable workload, easier access to workers’ comp benefits and more counselors.
While climate change is driving enduring drought and ferocious fires ravaging California, nature can’t be blamed for all of Cal Fire’s problems: The state’s fire service, which prides itself in quickly putting out wildfires, has failed to extinguish a smoldering mental health problem among its ranks.
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You can watch Chief Jeff Burrow's story HERE
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You can watch Chief Noelle Bahnmiller's story HERE
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All of the fallen firefighters will be featured in the Summer issue of the Fire Front Magazine, out in July.
This year we are honoring the following:
2020
Stacy Hamilton, TCU
Paul Rotondaro, MMU
Yaroslav Katkov, MVU
2021 Rollover
Stanley F. Craig, RO4
Hans Bolowich, RRU
Jason O'Brien, MVU
Mark Roedel, RRU
Bruce Turbeville, SAC
2022
Ryan Mitchell, MVU
Jacob Flores, RRU
Douglas Shank, RRU
Christopher Wurster, NEU
Jorge Loera, BEU
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Body Scan Program coming to Sacramento!
July 13-15, 2022
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Check out this great opportunity for a body scan as part of your union membership if you have PORAC Health Insurance. See below for details! |
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CAL FIRE'S Summer Camp inspires young women to become the future of the fire service |
SHASTA COUNTY — As California's wildfire seasons grow increasingly fierce, there's an urgency to build up the firefighting workforce of the future.
Cal Fire, the state's fire management agency, said it's committed to bringing more women into its ranks. That's why the agency just held a week-long camp for girls – ages 14 to 18 – in Shasta and San Luis Obispo counties.
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Sacramento Heart & Stroke
Walk 2022
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Did you know that according to the American Heart Association (AHA) cardiovascular disease occurs every 39 seconds and is the No. 1 killer of all Americans?
It was reported by the AHA that an estimated 80% of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, are preventable. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (2018), nearly 50 percent of on-duty firefighter deaths are caused by cardiovascular issues. Firefighters face many dangers, but the greatest risk is from underlying cardiovascular disease in combination with the physiological strain that the work places on the firefighter.
Join CAL FIRE’s team as we support the AHA via a donation or by joining the annual Heart & Stroke Walk event. When you join Heart Walk, you join more than a million people in 300+ cities across America in taking a stand against heart disease and helping save lives! Over the next few months, everyone who joins the cause will have the opportunity to engage in fun wellness activities and challenges. If you are local to Sacramento, we will celebrate all of our efforts during the Heart & Stroke Walk, taking place at William Land Park on September 24, 2022.
If you have any questions you can email our AHA contact, Kitty Hoffman, at kitty.hoffman@heart.org! Please give CAL FIRE’s Wellness Program a follow-on Instagram @calfirewellness for additional details on the event.
Thank you in advance for joining our team. YOU are a Heart Hero!
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STRONGER TOGETHER
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
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HELP MAKE CHANGE - GET INVOLVED |
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You can find more information HERE.
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Reminder to the membership from CAL FIRE Deputy Director Favro Regarding 2022 Leave Buy-Back/Cash-Out Program
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On April 25, 2022, the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) updated its Policy Section 2104 - Leave Buy-Back Program for the 2021-22 Fiscal Year, authorizing all State departments to allow for an annual leave cash-out of unused leave credits, subject to the availability of departmental funding.
Pursuant to most Memorandum of Understandings/Bargaining Contracts, on or before May 1, the Department Head or designee must advise employees whether the department has available funds to participate. As such, this is to advise that CAL FIRE has determined its availability of funding and intends to participate in the 2022 Leave Buy-Back/Cash-Out Program.
We are currently awaiting additional information from the State Controller’s Office, and once we have that, we will roll out this program for 2022. Additional information and instructions on how employees may elect to participate in the 2022 Leave Buy-Back/Cash-Out Program will be forthcoming.
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From Your State Retiree Director,
Brian Burger
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Protecting You & Your Family?
Retirement is an event that everyone will encounter at some point, and I hope that active members read my articles as they prepare and plan for their future retirements. Every unit probably has a few employees forced to retire early on an Industrial Disability Retirement. This could have been due to an unforeseen accident or a medically related disability. Others may have retired due to a repetitive injury from a job activity that prevented their continued employment. These events lead to an unintended retirement.
Your union has fought hard to have the State pay the annual fee to document and maintain your exposure to any hazardous event you may encounter during your career. California Professional Firefighters developed and maintained the database, and the State first paid for all permanent personnel to store exposures there. A few years later, the union traded other benefits we might have obtained in bargaining to get the same benefit for our seasonal personnel.
Whether it's a toxic exposure from a house or vehicle fire, a chemical spill, or a needle stick on a medical aid call, firefighters are exposed to a mix of toxins that can shorten their lives. Modern fires and emergency responses created risks unimagined a few years ago. From toxic flame-retardants to airborne pathogens, new medical risks are everywhere. You have been told of these dangers many times before.
A personal exposure report (PER) is your permanent record of these hidden risks you encountered. Exposure records allow your physician to identify the causes and treatments more easily if you get sick.
The doctor can also verify what caused your injury & help in proving the cause of your illness in a dispute over health, disability, and survivor benefits.
Remember that you should also record exposures on wildland fires, especially when monitors have recorded high levels of particulates.
The health risks of minute smoke particles as small as 2.5 microns have only recently been documented, and the Air Resources Board only started documenting levels in the late 1990s.
So, how would you go about recording incidents you are assigned to a year later. The CPF PER allows you to upload documents related to the exposure, and you can attach a picture or document indicating high particulate levels to your exposure Report. You can download several apps such as www.airnow.gov or www.purpleair.com. A photo of the monitor data 24 hours can be recorded and later added to a PER. The www.air.gov site allows you to go back three years to capture past data. CAL FIRE Local 2881 posted photos of high levels since the Carr Fire in 2018 and other ARB information when smoke levels exceeded 150. You can still add these items and submit them for older incidents you were assigned.
You can find this information at the bottom of our members' side of the union website under Member Benefits. Here, you can find past photos and documents under different years. You can easily view photos, note the date, and see how bad the air quality was. A PowerPoint shown in the lower right might convince you to file PERs for past incidents.
Unfortunately, many air monitors that record particles are placed in cities near populated areas to warn the public of the dangers of smoke exposure. Who knows how many times worse the concentrations experienced by firefighters are on the fireline than those recorded by sensors miles away? Time will tell, but I suggest you document conditions on wildland fires as these photos can help you win a SCIF case or industrial Disability Retirement. This benefits both you and your family.
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If you or your family uses Amazon for shopping, shop Amazon Smile and support your Local 2881 sisters & brothers! |
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Head to Smile.Amazon.com and select the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation as your charity and start shopping!
*The Foundation may also be found listed under its previous name,
CDF Firefighters Benevolent Foundation
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Did you know the
CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation is on Instagram?
Give them a follow today!
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Have you checked out the historical footage dating back to the 1940s?
The digitization of the California Revealed project is online and available to view.
More films will be added soon!
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IF YOU ARE AN CAL FIRE LOCAL 2881
ACTIVE MEMBER
YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS
PROVIDED FROM OUR AFFILIATION WITH PORAC
IN ORDER TO VIEW AND ENROLL IN THESE BENEFITS
(INCLUDING HEALTHCARE AND AFLAC PROGRAMS)
WE NEED YOUR DATE OF BIRTH.
Upload your information HERE.
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Have you recently moved? Make sure your physical/mailing address is updated with us so you always receive the Fire Front magazine and other important docs.
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CAL FIRE ESS 24hr Helpline: (916) 445-4337
EAP 24hr Helpline: (866) 327-4762
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FIREFIGHTER ADVANCEMENT AT
CSU SAN MARCOS
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Did you just retire?
Make sure to sign up to be a CAL FIRE Local 2881 Retired Member and stay in the know!
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With Personal Exposure Reporting from California Professional Firefighters, firefighters can document exposures to toxins that can produce job-related illness.
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Check out the Exposure Reporting section on the L2881 Member Benefits page. It has tons of links and information on the importance of reporting, how to report, and historical air quality data for to use in your reporting.
Check it out now and document your exposures!
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Ingredients:
- 1 box (14.1 oz) refrigerated pie crusts
- 6 cups peeled, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (about 5-6 apples)
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¾ cup sugar
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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Optional: vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream for serving
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bring refrigerated pie crusts to room temp.
- Unroll 1 pie cruse and press into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Cover and chill the curst for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the filling (the cold pastry will yield a flakier crust).
- In a large bowl, toss together all of the filling ingredients.
- Transfer filling to the pie plate. Unroll the second pie crust and place it on top of the apples.
- Tuck the extra top crust under the bottom crust edge, pinching together with your fingers to seal or crimp.
- Cut slits in the top pf the pie (to allow steam to vent).
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown. About halfway through the baking time, cover the edge of the crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent the edges from becoming too dark.
- Cool pie on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.
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Is your physical/mailing address updated with us?
Did you get the Winter 2021 Fire Front magazine mailed to your home recently? If not, then we don't have your current address.
It's important for us to have it in case you are impacted or may be impacted by a wildfire or other emergency. Use the link below, call or email us to update it today!
(916) 609-8711 / dkelsch@L2881.org
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Has your marital status changed? Update your L2881 beneficiary information with us today and keep your loved ones secure. Fill out this form and send it to Danielle @ dkelsch@L2881.org
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Share your photos & videos with us.
What does your CAL FIRE look like? Help show the #AllRisk CAL FIRE. Send us a DM on social media or reach out to Communications Officer at
(916) 277-9889
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UPCOMING EVENTS
MEMBER SUPPORT 101
MAY 16-19, 2022
CPF CONVENTION
MAY 18-21, 2022
L2881 PAC Training
May 23-25
CA MEMORIAL
JULY 30, 2022
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CAL FIRE BENEVOLENT
FOUNDATION
Provides funds for immediate life sustaining assistance to firefighters and their families who have suffered debilitating injury or loss of life.
Follow on Instagram!
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CAL FIRE MUSEUM
Look in the winter edition of the Fire Front magazine for an update from the museum.
Don't forget to sign up for their newsletter too!
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For more updates, events, and news visit our website:
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